Talks with Vietnamese President ‘fruitful’: Sisi

CAIRO - 27 August 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi received Monday his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang in Cairo holding a joint press conference. Before the meeting, President Quang spent the weekend at the historic city of Luxor.

President Sisi stressed the “special importance” of the visit, which is the first since establishing bilateral diplomatic ties 55 years ago; the first visit by an Egyptian president to Hanoi took place in September.

Sisi stated that the talks were “fruitful” focusing on strengthening relations and cooperation within international institutions, and on political, economic, military and security scales. The leaders also discussed international and regional topics of mutual interest, possible counterterrorism mechanisms, paving the way for Egyptian exports as well as touristic and cultural exchange.

The Egyptian president declared that both countries share eagerness to establish stability, security, and peace prioritizing the accomplishment of economic development.

Sisi praised the regional value of Vietnam and its outstanding capabilities, thanking Quang for supporting Egypt two years ago to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) established by the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Joining ASEAN served Egypt in boosting relations with Member States and benefiting from their developmental experiences.

President Sisi stated that Egypt is open to coordinating and cooperating with Vietnam during its chairing of the African Union (AU) in 2019 with the purpose of serving African and Asian interests.

Quang expressed his appreciation of Egypt’s hospitality saying that the talks were very successful discussing cooperation in different domains with a focus on military defence. The Vietnamese President highlighted that both countries have all the necessary qualifications for trade cooperation pledging to boost bilateral trade exchange to $1 million.

Quang agreed with Sisi to exchange information, and facilitate the work of Egyptian businessmen.

The trade volume between Egypt and Vietnam increased to $377 million in 2017, compared with $266 million in 2016, at an increase of 41.7 percent, according to the Trade Agreements Sector at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.